![Novice [250]](https://i.imgur.com/lrYlde6.png)
It was supposed to be a lazy day. A day to do absolutely nothing but chill. Maybe read a magazine. Mess around on the trusty iLac. Take frequent naps. A day of easy time wasters that served no purpose whatsoever except to procrastinate on accomplishing the more important things in life. Alia had a checklist somewhere. Things that even by her standards were deemed important. Like repairing some of her equipment, buying some upgrades with whatever spare jewels she found hidden in the couch, and learning to bake bread because that seemed like a cool thing to know that one time she walked past a bakery while hungry. Truly important stuff. Not that war stuff that was going on… somewhere… over… well wherever that mess was on the continent. She just knew it wasn’t in Fiore and she hoped it stayed that way. She didn’t want to get involved at all. Too risky and she preferred being both in one piece and alive. Maybe she had finally reached a point in mage power where she wasn’t the weakest thing walking the world anymore, but she was nowhere near the levels that the true all-stars of the mage world were at. It’d be suicide for her to get involved, and as of right now no one paid enough for her to forget that detail. That was how her day was ruined in part.
The young blonde might have not cared about the war that was going on but others close to her did. Mostly because they could make a profit by selling their gear to those that were taking part, but also because well, why wouldn’t anyone with any sense worry? It was Pergrande they were dealing with and some time ago they had joined with a few other nations as well to form an alliance. It was a worrying time for the old man professor and Trey, her unofficial adoptive father and brother. Not that Alia noticed anything. She was oblivious to the signs that gave away their thoughts on the matter: over-preparing, working even more, even coming up with ideas on when and where they would go if things really got dire. To Aliarey, they were just being their normal selves with all of that business. That day included.
“Ahhhh, laaazzyyy day,” Aliarey said out loud to herself, stretching her arms high above her just before falling onto the couch and lying on it face down onto the seat cushion. “My favorite day.” Still in her blue long-sleeved pajamas, Aliarey had planned to take a nap. This plan of course came into creation after sleeping until ten am as it was, waking up, using the bathroom, and switching rooms from her bedroom and the living room. What? She could have gone back to her room but the window in the living room was larger and way better. Perfect to let her inner cat out by lazing underneath the sun's rays during a comfy nap. As a solid bonus, she could turn the lacrimavision on easily and watch it from there whereas her bedroom did not have one. It was very simple when it came to furniture since she wasn’t there too often.
The nap didn't last long, the state of blissful sleep shot away dead before Alia could reach it. "Ow hey!" She yelled as she quickly rose up and rubbed her sudden aching head. Her gaze looked down to see the culprit. The thing that had been merely a pawn for the actual villain. An alarm clock. And the one evil enough to disturb her? Trey. The terrible brother that actually wasn’t so terrible. It was always an exaggeration on her part, and he was just more purposefully annoying than anything. Like right at that moment. Her dagger glare shifted focus from the clock to the glare. "Why are you throwing clocks at me?!"
"Correction. I threw A clock." Trey stated, relaying the correction as though it were just a simple fact of life and certainly showing no regret for the action. He stood there holding up his signature cup of coffee. His usual morning routine had been completed hours ago from the looks of it. He was fully dressed and already donned his favorite white coat, not a stray of hair was out of place from bad bed hair, and the smell of whatever it was he used in the shower and a mix of daytime hygiene products filled the room like a poison.
Alia couldn’t stand that smell of chemicals yet other people went crazy for it. They were all stupid. And weird. But mostly stupid for allowing that stuff to take over the streets and make people like her have headaches or nearly pass out whenever they walk by. Even right then her nostrils regretted picking up that scent, causing her to immediately cover her nose with a hand. “God damn, how much of that stuff did you put on? Are you planning to weaponize yourself?”
“If it gets you up any faster then sure. This is a weapon of ingenious design. Combined with the clock toss I have mastered the perfect strategy. Is it working? Be honest. The results must be accurately documented.”
“It’s too early for me to deal with smartasses,” Alia groaned, laying back down on the couch and refusing to continue the conversation further. She rolled over onto her stomach, smooshing her face against the sofa pillow that decorated the edge of her current chosen bed. He’d go away if she just ignored him, right? Right. The silence that followed was proof enough that the conversation was over and he would leave her to her nap. Or so she thought.
A sound pierced through the room. An ungodly sound that came from the action only a true mastermind villain of her deepest nightmares would do. That or done as an action to be obscenely annoying to her. The sound was one that was always done on purpose when it came from her brother. On purpose and boldly exaggerated. It was the sound of a slurp. The loud eye-twitching sound that came about as he drank coffee. He could drink it silently. Most times he did. But he chose not to. He chose instead to ruin her nap. To ruin her plans of having a lazy relaxing day. Then he did it again for extra effect. That bastard.
Alia shot up again, that time taking the couch pillow and tossing it at Trey. “Get out of here and leave me alone!” The result was the man not making any effort to move whatsoever. It was a pillow, not a grenade. It bounced off his head and onto the floor. An awkward silence filled the room. Well, mostly awkward for the blonde that threw the pillow. Now she’d have to get up and go get it if she wanted to use it again for her nap. She had made more effort for herself and it was such a damn drag. “Ugh, just great. Now look what you made me do. Can you toss it back?”
“I’m busy trying to get you off your lazy ass. You can see why I have zero time left in my morning to pick up after you, especially a pillow. I’d sooner set it on fire and toss it to you then…” Trey went silent. The words he had just spoken replayed in his head. He held his chin in serious thought. That might work. “Actually that’s not a bad idea.”
Alia frowned deeply. She wasn’t amused and her cerulean-colored eyes rolled. “Yeah before we set the place on fire can you just get to your point? If there is one? You don’t usually care when I’m lazy. You prefer it because I’m out of your way. But here we are with you annoying me and practically killing me with your genius presence. So what do you want?”
“Wow, rude. Maybe I just wanted to spend the morning with you for once.”
Ha! Aliarey didn’t believe that for a second. She let out a snorted laugh. “No, you didn’t.”
Trey took a long sip from his coffee cup before replying. “You’re right. I didn’t. I have a reason for ruining my day by interacting with you for more than five minutes.”
“And that is?” Aliarey asked, feigning a small amount of curiosity as she yawned. She wasn't offended in the slightest by his comment. It was always how they talked. It was more playful banter than anything. They both knew they annoyed each other so getting too upset at every little comment would be an exhausting task that neither of them had the energy or time for.
“Get dressed and meet me in the lab. I’ll tell you then.”
“Seriously? Maaaaannn, I don’t want to. Just tell me now.”
“Just do it. You’ll get something out of it.”
At that Aliarey perked up, instantly becoming full of energy and now showing great interest. “Really? Is it a new weapon to try?!” The excitement at that theory could not be hidden or held.
Trey sighed and shook his head. Inside he wanted to die. The cringe was too much. Now wanting to leave the room as quickly as possible before he was bugged to death for more details, he swiftly turned around and began to walk out. “God, you’re so like a kid. But yeah.”
Now Aliarey was off the sofa and on her feet. “I’m there! See you in a few!”
Trey didn’t even need to hear that or the excited high pitched laughter that followed. Unfortunately he didn’t make it out of the room before that annoyance reached his ears. He sighed again, mentally preparing himself for the long day ahead. He already had a headache.
It didn’t take long at all for Alia to put herself together and get to the lab. Clothes were easy with her requip magic and everything else was just a matter of a quick shower and brushed hair. She didn’t care to dry the massive amount of blonde hair on her head. It could do that naturally on its own. She didn’t want to waste another single minute if there was a new weapon to play with. It was rare but always a treat. Unless there were drawbacks to it. Trey didn’t mention any before so there probably was something he was going to add to ruin it but for those short moments, Alia couldn’t be happier.
“All right here I am!” Alia declared loudly, her voice echoing through the large lab that contained all the completed and in-progress works of Trey and the old man. She was used to poking at them and getting her wrist slapped for doing so but that day she didn’t bother playing around like that. Her thoughts were only on the one that was supposed to be hers. Jumping over the railing of the staircase, Aliarey landed smoothly and then bounced her way over to Trey, who stood there waiting while stirring his cup of coffee. “So where’s my new weapon?!”
“Technically it’s not new,” he answered, setting his cup down on a desk and then walking over to a storage case. “You remember that weapon you found on the train in Desierto?”
“Huh?" Aliarey arched a brow in confusion and then thought for a moment. "You mean the train with those weird spirit gunslinger robbers?”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah then. It was some kind of pistol. I didn’t get a good look at it because of everything going on then and you kind of took it from me when I got back. The only thing I remember about it was that the thing was gold. Like really gold. Weren’t you supposed to sell it?”
“That was the plan but then I ran an analysis on it. It’s a bit more powerful than I had thought. I even tested it and it had an impact that I was not expecting. There was no way I was going to sell it. Quite frankly, it’s better being with you. Things are getting uncomfortably crazy. I don’t know how useful it’ll be if things get so out of control we’re actually in the war but just in case you’ll at least have that handy. Just don’t break it. There’s not another one like it and I wouldn’t even know how to begin repairing it.”
With that said, Trey opened the metal case, revealing the shimmering gold pistol. Goldbrand. That was its name supposedly according to the box it was in back on the train. Aside from that she knew next to nothing about it and its origins except for one thing. It was beautiful. Aliarey’s eyes teared up just looking at it. Such a magnificent masterpiece of a weapon was hers. And it was powerful? It was her lucky day even if her nap had been ruined.
She reached out for it, ready to claim it as her own and add it to her collection. The metal case slammed shut and locked before she could even touch it. “But first,” Trey began to say with a sly smile, “you’re going to practice using it. I’m not going to be held responsible for you doing some major damage to the innocent public because you didn’t know how to use its abilities. Plus, you know, dad would kill me if his favorite worker exploded because she didn’t know how to use this new awesome piece of magic weaponry.”
There was the expected drawback. How terrible. The weapon wouldn’t truly be hers until she mastered using it. Mastering it meant practicing and training. She didn’t enjoy that activity. Her day was now ruined. The day was destined to be one where she spent the entirety of it, or rather what was left of it, with Trey. Practicing her shooting skills and figuring out all the tricks Goldbrand had to offer. It could have been fun but it wasn’t. It was a drag. The next day wasn’t looking to be any different either. Maybe she’d get her lazy day next week.
(Word Count: 2349)
1000 for first C Rank Freeform
1000 for second C Rank Freeform
349 words left
The young blonde might have not cared about the war that was going on but others close to her did. Mostly because they could make a profit by selling their gear to those that were taking part, but also because well, why wouldn’t anyone with any sense worry? It was Pergrande they were dealing with and some time ago they had joined with a few other nations as well to form an alliance. It was a worrying time for the old man professor and Trey, her unofficial adoptive father and brother. Not that Alia noticed anything. She was oblivious to the signs that gave away their thoughts on the matter: over-preparing, working even more, even coming up with ideas on when and where they would go if things really got dire. To Aliarey, they were just being their normal selves with all of that business. That day included.
“Ahhhh, laaazzyyy day,” Aliarey said out loud to herself, stretching her arms high above her just before falling onto the couch and lying on it face down onto the seat cushion. “My favorite day.” Still in her blue long-sleeved pajamas, Aliarey had planned to take a nap. This plan of course came into creation after sleeping until ten am as it was, waking up, using the bathroom, and switching rooms from her bedroom and the living room. What? She could have gone back to her room but the window in the living room was larger and way better. Perfect to let her inner cat out by lazing underneath the sun's rays during a comfy nap. As a solid bonus, she could turn the lacrimavision on easily and watch it from there whereas her bedroom did not have one. It was very simple when it came to furniture since she wasn’t there too often.
The nap didn't last long, the state of blissful sleep shot away dead before Alia could reach it. "Ow hey!" She yelled as she quickly rose up and rubbed her sudden aching head. Her gaze looked down to see the culprit. The thing that had been merely a pawn for the actual villain. An alarm clock. And the one evil enough to disturb her? Trey. The terrible brother that actually wasn’t so terrible. It was always an exaggeration on her part, and he was just more purposefully annoying than anything. Like right at that moment. Her dagger glare shifted focus from the clock to the glare. "Why are you throwing clocks at me?!"
"Correction. I threw A clock." Trey stated, relaying the correction as though it were just a simple fact of life and certainly showing no regret for the action. He stood there holding up his signature cup of coffee. His usual morning routine had been completed hours ago from the looks of it. He was fully dressed and already donned his favorite white coat, not a stray of hair was out of place from bad bed hair, and the smell of whatever it was he used in the shower and a mix of daytime hygiene products filled the room like a poison.
Alia couldn’t stand that smell of chemicals yet other people went crazy for it. They were all stupid. And weird. But mostly stupid for allowing that stuff to take over the streets and make people like her have headaches or nearly pass out whenever they walk by. Even right then her nostrils regretted picking up that scent, causing her to immediately cover her nose with a hand. “God damn, how much of that stuff did you put on? Are you planning to weaponize yourself?”
“If it gets you up any faster then sure. This is a weapon of ingenious design. Combined with the clock toss I have mastered the perfect strategy. Is it working? Be honest. The results must be accurately documented.”
“It’s too early for me to deal with smartasses,” Alia groaned, laying back down on the couch and refusing to continue the conversation further. She rolled over onto her stomach, smooshing her face against the sofa pillow that decorated the edge of her current chosen bed. He’d go away if she just ignored him, right? Right. The silence that followed was proof enough that the conversation was over and he would leave her to her nap. Or so she thought.
A sound pierced through the room. An ungodly sound that came from the action only a true mastermind villain of her deepest nightmares would do. That or done as an action to be obscenely annoying to her. The sound was one that was always done on purpose when it came from her brother. On purpose and boldly exaggerated. It was the sound of a slurp. The loud eye-twitching sound that came about as he drank coffee. He could drink it silently. Most times he did. But he chose not to. He chose instead to ruin her nap. To ruin her plans of having a lazy relaxing day. Then he did it again for extra effect. That bastard.
Alia shot up again, that time taking the couch pillow and tossing it at Trey. “Get out of here and leave me alone!” The result was the man not making any effort to move whatsoever. It was a pillow, not a grenade. It bounced off his head and onto the floor. An awkward silence filled the room. Well, mostly awkward for the blonde that threw the pillow. Now she’d have to get up and go get it if she wanted to use it again for her nap. She had made more effort for herself and it was such a damn drag. “Ugh, just great. Now look what you made me do. Can you toss it back?”
“I’m busy trying to get you off your lazy ass. You can see why I have zero time left in my morning to pick up after you, especially a pillow. I’d sooner set it on fire and toss it to you then…” Trey went silent. The words he had just spoken replayed in his head. He held his chin in serious thought. That might work. “Actually that’s not a bad idea.”
Alia frowned deeply. She wasn’t amused and her cerulean-colored eyes rolled. “Yeah before we set the place on fire can you just get to your point? If there is one? You don’t usually care when I’m lazy. You prefer it because I’m out of your way. But here we are with you annoying me and practically killing me with your genius presence. So what do you want?”
“Wow, rude. Maybe I just wanted to spend the morning with you for once.”
Ha! Aliarey didn’t believe that for a second. She let out a snorted laugh. “No, you didn’t.”
Trey took a long sip from his coffee cup before replying. “You’re right. I didn’t. I have a reason for ruining my day by interacting with you for more than five minutes.”
“And that is?” Aliarey asked, feigning a small amount of curiosity as she yawned. She wasn't offended in the slightest by his comment. It was always how they talked. It was more playful banter than anything. They both knew they annoyed each other so getting too upset at every little comment would be an exhausting task that neither of them had the energy or time for.
“Get dressed and meet me in the lab. I’ll tell you then.”
“Seriously? Maaaaannn, I don’t want to. Just tell me now.”
“Just do it. You’ll get something out of it.”
At that Aliarey perked up, instantly becoming full of energy and now showing great interest. “Really? Is it a new weapon to try?!” The excitement at that theory could not be hidden or held.
Trey sighed and shook his head. Inside he wanted to die. The cringe was too much. Now wanting to leave the room as quickly as possible before he was bugged to death for more details, he swiftly turned around and began to walk out. “God, you’re so like a kid. But yeah.”
Now Aliarey was off the sofa and on her feet. “I’m there! See you in a few!”
Trey didn’t even need to hear that or the excited high pitched laughter that followed. Unfortunately he didn’t make it out of the room before that annoyance reached his ears. He sighed again, mentally preparing himself for the long day ahead. He already had a headache.
It didn’t take long at all for Alia to put herself together and get to the lab. Clothes were easy with her requip magic and everything else was just a matter of a quick shower and brushed hair. She didn’t care to dry the massive amount of blonde hair on her head. It could do that naturally on its own. She didn’t want to waste another single minute if there was a new weapon to play with. It was rare but always a treat. Unless there were drawbacks to it. Trey didn’t mention any before so there probably was something he was going to add to ruin it but for those short moments, Alia couldn’t be happier.
“All right here I am!” Alia declared loudly, her voice echoing through the large lab that contained all the completed and in-progress works of Trey and the old man. She was used to poking at them and getting her wrist slapped for doing so but that day she didn’t bother playing around like that. Her thoughts were only on the one that was supposed to be hers. Jumping over the railing of the staircase, Aliarey landed smoothly and then bounced her way over to Trey, who stood there waiting while stirring his cup of coffee. “So where’s my new weapon?!”
“Technically it’s not new,” he answered, setting his cup down on a desk and then walking over to a storage case. “You remember that weapon you found on the train in Desierto?”
“Huh?" Aliarey arched a brow in confusion and then thought for a moment. "You mean the train with those weird spirit gunslinger robbers?”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah then. It was some kind of pistol. I didn’t get a good look at it because of everything going on then and you kind of took it from me when I got back. The only thing I remember about it was that the thing was gold. Like really gold. Weren’t you supposed to sell it?”
“That was the plan but then I ran an analysis on it. It’s a bit more powerful than I had thought. I even tested it and it had an impact that I was not expecting. There was no way I was going to sell it. Quite frankly, it’s better being with you. Things are getting uncomfortably crazy. I don’t know how useful it’ll be if things get so out of control we’re actually in the war but just in case you’ll at least have that handy. Just don’t break it. There’s not another one like it and I wouldn’t even know how to begin repairing it.”
With that said, Trey opened the metal case, revealing the shimmering gold pistol. Goldbrand. That was its name supposedly according to the box it was in back on the train. Aside from that she knew next to nothing about it and its origins except for one thing. It was beautiful. Aliarey’s eyes teared up just looking at it. Such a magnificent masterpiece of a weapon was hers. And it was powerful? It was her lucky day even if her nap had been ruined.
She reached out for it, ready to claim it as her own and add it to her collection. The metal case slammed shut and locked before she could even touch it. “But first,” Trey began to say with a sly smile, “you’re going to practice using it. I’m not going to be held responsible for you doing some major damage to the innocent public because you didn’t know how to use its abilities. Plus, you know, dad would kill me if his favorite worker exploded because she didn’t know how to use this new awesome piece of magic weaponry.”
There was the expected drawback. How terrible. The weapon wouldn’t truly be hers until she mastered using it. Mastering it meant practicing and training. She didn’t enjoy that activity. Her day was now ruined. The day was destined to be one where she spent the entirety of it, or rather what was left of it, with Trey. Practicing her shooting skills and figuring out all the tricks Goldbrand had to offer. It could have been fun but it wasn’t. It was a drag. The next day wasn’t looking to be any different either. Maybe she’d get her lazy day next week.
(Word Count: 2349)
1000 for first C Rank Freeform
1000 for second C Rank Freeform
349 words left
